The present invention is directed to detailing a building structure, and more specifically to volume detailing a building structure.
Traditionally, designers utilizing computer aided design (CAD) systems have designed building structures as a series of planes. That is, the structural members of a particular building structure (e.g., roof trusses) have been designed in a series of planes. Utilizing this approach, a designer has created each member (i.e., each top chord, bottom chord and web member) of an individual truss in a single plane. Unfortunately, trusses designed in this manner have not allowed for the consideration of the positioning of various structural and non-structural components in the building structure. Additionally, when building structures are designed as a series of planes, CAD packages are incapable of providing reference information between arbitrary locations in multiple planes.
As a result, when ductwork and walkways have been installed in a building structure (utilizing trusses so designed), an installer has been required to crawl through the structure to determine the routing of such non-structural components. For example, an installer of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems has been required to crawl through the attic space measuring the openings between web members of a truss to determine the exact routing of the HVAC ductwork. In some cases, it has been necessary to modify a truss on-site to accommodate structural or non-structural components of a building structure. Before modifying the truss, a designer has been required to determine whether the truss, as modified to accommodate the structural or non-structural component, will meet a designed load. In many cases, the manufacturing of a new truss has been required to meet the designed load. This has resulted in delay of the construction of the building structure, as well as, increased cost.
While many CAD systems have been utilized to model the parts of various mechanical apparatus (e.g., a shaft and a gear that mounts to the shaft) as solids, so that a designer could check the interference between those parts, this concept has not been extended to building structures. As such, a method of detailing a building structure that allows for the consideration of the positioning of various structural and non-structural components during design of the building structure, is desirable.